Kirby Corporation $KEX Stock Purchased by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 8.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 761,099 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,371 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $99,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Kirby by 182.9% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Kirby by 488.9% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 477 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kirby by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 520 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,079 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 890 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Kirby from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.20.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE:KEX traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $138.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 653,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 644,135. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $136.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.71. Kirby Corporation has a 12-month low of $79.51 and a 12-month high of $157.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.04. Kirby had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $922.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $870.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.280-7.280 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kirby Profile

Kirby Corporation is a marine transportation and engine-services company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1921, the company operates primarily in the United States and is one of the largest domestic operators of tank barges.

Through its marine transportation business, Kirby transports bulk liquid products on the nation’s inland waterway system and along the U.S. coast. Its cargoes include refined petroleum products, petrochemicals, black oil, agricultural chemicals and other specialty liquids.